It started with something almost laughably small.
A narrow road. Two convoys. One had to give way.
What happened next? A full-blown attempt to murder FIR against an Indian Army Colonel.
Picture the scene in Kishtwar, J&K.
The Deputy Commissioner's convoy is squeezing through a tight stretch of road.
An Army vehicle from 17 Rashtriya Rifles rolls up from the opposite side.
Someone asks it to move aside.
Tempers flare. Words fly. The police haul the Army vehicle off to Atholi police station.
Just another roadside spat, right?
Wrong.
Not knocking, actually. Scaling walls.
The FIR reads like a thriller script:
The Station House Officer was away at the DC's Block Diwas program when his phone rang.
On the line: news of a "conspiracy and criminal assault" unfolding inside his own station.
He rushed back. He was reportedly beaten too.
The man at the top of the FIR? Colonel N Arun Gandhi, Commanding Officer of 17 RR.
The police say the attack was "preplanned" — and launched under his "direct instructions and command."
The charges stacked against him, Major Sharma, and the soldiers:
The identities of the 30-40 unnamed jawans? To be ascertained during investigation.
This isn't a militant zone shootout. This is the Indian Army vs. the J&K Police. On paper. In an FIR.
The same 17 RR that's been hunting terrorists in Kishtwar's high-altitude forests for years.
The same district where soldiers have been dying in encounters as recently as this January.
Now its CO stands booked for attempted murder of cops.
The Army's response? Measured. Careful.
Lt Col Suneel Baratwal: "The matter is under examination through appropriate institutional mechanisms… Indian Army will extend full cooperation."
Translation: a joint investigation is coming.
⚡ One narrow road. One traffic argument.
And suddenly, two of India's most powerful uniformed forces are staring each other down across a courtroom.
The uniform doesn't make you untouchable anymore.
That's all for now!
